Using my Verizon cell phone in Italy

No. The prepaid phones are not global ready and can't be used in Europe.

Go here to read the basics of Europe Mobile Phone 101.

Thank you so much, everyone. You guys are great!

Don't know if you can do this on the plan you have with Verizon, but Verizon does "rent" phones that can be used overseas. We could have done it with our plan, but I waited too long to inquire about it and it would not have been possible to get the phone to us in time before we left for Italy.

AT&T phone can be used in Europe. You call them and have them set you up with international calling...price $5. at that point calls in Europe are 99cents per min. If you don't pay the $5 its $1.25. You can have them remove incalling if you want because if local people unknowing kept calling you the price could really add up. This worked great for us who are the clueless people also. The easier the better.....Jo

My husband bought a really cheap old Blackberry on Ebay for under $30. When we got to Italy, he went to a TIM store and for 10 Euros, got a SIM card, stuffed it in the Blackberry, and we were good to go. You can reload it in 5 Euro increments. It was fun to text my 82 year old Mother from Italy every day! Phoning internationally eats up the time pretty quickly, but it's not so bad for calls in Italy itself. Nice to have the security, and if someone rips off your phone, you aren't out all that much! We use that old Blackberry every time we travel to Europe!

Here call this number 1-800-922-0204 and ask them to send you a rental phone for international use. It's that easy. :-)

I am a verizon customer & am doing this for my travels next month.

Cheryl... excellent idea!

Here is the plan via Verizon themselves. It is not expensive if you pay for one month of global coverage at 4.99.

Welcome to Global & International Services
Whether you are calling someone internationally or traveling globally, Verizon Wireless offers a suite of services to meet your needs.
During your conversation with Verizon Wireless you asked us to email the following Global/International information to you.
Global Rates
Country Standard Rate
per min $4.99 Global Value Rate
per min Rate per Message (Send) Rate per Message (Receive) Picture/Video Rate (Send) Picture/Video Rate (Receive)
Italy $1.29 $0.99 $0.50 $0.05 $0.50 $0.25
Hungary $1.29 $0.99 $0.50 $0.05 $0.50 $0.25
Austria $1.29 $0.99 $0.50 $0.05 $0.50 $0.25
Switzerland $1.29 $0.99 $0.50 $0.05 $0.50 $0.25
Slovenia $1.29 $0.99 $0.50 $0.05 $0.50 $0.25

Please see VZW International Services – Outside the U.S. for our full suite of Global Services.
Please see verizonwireless.com/internationalmessaging for for a list of countries with messaging functionality. Click on the specific tabs for text and picture/video information.
When sending messages, you will be charged per recipient, per message.
When you send or receive Picture/Video messages while roaming, additional data charges will apply.

Dialing Instructions - The dialing instructions for your countries can be found below.
Country Code Dial Network Dialing From Dialing To Instruction
39 GSM Italy U.S. Dial Plus Sign then 1 then ten digit U.S. number
39 GSM Italy Local Dial local number

39 GSM Italy Other Countries Dial Plus Sign then Country Code then international number
39 GSM Italy Customer Service Dial Plus Sign then 1 then 908-559-4899
36 GSM Hungary U.S. Dial Plus Sign then 1 then ten digit U.S. number
36 GSM Hungary Local Dial local number

36 GSM Hungary Other Countries Dial Plus Sign then Country Code then international number
36 GSM Hungary Customer Service Dial Plus Sign then 1 then 908-559-4899

sorry that's all over the place, and it includes the other countries I will be in which don't apply here. I just copied and pasted.

Just call and ask them. All you pay is for your usage and shipping & handling for the phone itself. I mean if you just plan to use it for emergencies I dont see an issue with cost. If you are taking a laptop use that for uplaoding & sharing photos or skype & email your family.

Under Verizon's Global Travel Plan, there are no rental fees. You just pay for coverage, prorated on a daily basis (you only pay for the days you need it), and for calls. You get to keep your Verizon phone number.

If you have a Blackberry, it pays as you can use the data section as well and your blackberry push emails are also included. (Same as a text message but free.)

If you have a global ready phone, it's $5/month for international phone service plus calls. Again, you keep your phone number.

I don't know where you got $4.99/minute. The Global plan is $4.99/month. Calls are 99 cents per minute.

Hi Joanne. I have a Verizon phone that would not work in Italy so I paid the $4.99 fee & Verizon shippped me an international phone. It cost $.99/min to use & that was it. No other fees. It was very easy & it worked out well. The phone came with instructions on how to disable my phone & activate the international one. They transferred my domestic cell ph# to the international phone so that family in the U.S. could easily get ahold of me by dialing my domestic ph#. When I got home, I disabled the international phone & shipped it back to Verizon. Couldn't have been easier.

Why not just purchase a prepaid phone at the airport when you arrive? That seems the simplest to me.

Wow, so much good info and choices! Thank you again everyone! What a great site this is. Hope I can help someone soon- perhaps after this next trip in June. Joanne

Will you have a laptop? I recently traveled to France and Switzerland and had my laptop for work. My hotels all had wireless so I just skyped home everynight. I paid maybe $3 for the entire trip.